“How I Made My Fortune? It was really quite simple. I bought an apple for 5 cents, spent the evening polishing it, and sold it the next day for 10 cents. With this I bought two apples, spent the evening polishing them, and sold them for 20 cents. And so it went until I had amassed a dollar and sixty cents. It was then that my wifes father died and left us a million dollars.”
Author Unknown
Now wouldn’t that be nice!  An inheritance is certainly a gift, yet more frequently I am reading that many people are counting on an inheritance to support them in their later years. While talking with an elderly person recently I thought it interesting that as much as we plan for our future, and attempt to secure our financial lives through estate planning, etc, we really don’t know how much of our savings we may need during our last years. Unless someone is extremely wealthy, the money set aside in savings and retirement accounts may be needed for assisted living, nursing care, medical costs…on and on until? Maybe until it’s gone. There are many people using various strategies to shed income and move assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. But realistically, Medicaid is a program for the poor… and those who need it most. Ethically there is a great debate about how individuals may shift money around to qualify in later years. Suffice it to say, if we want to have a choice of the type and location of care during our “nursing home years” we may just need to ensure we can pay for it. If a relative is counting on some type of inheritance, they may be surprised when ‘ole mom, dad or grandma lives another 20 years! And you never really know what someone may decide to do with their money… it is, after all, theirs. As for me, I don’t believe in counting on an inheritance, and if it ever did happen- I would consider it as many do… a loving gift from one who has moved on.  I think I’ll go polish another apple…
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